New flexibility
Alexander Russ: You have developed new modules for the "Vertiko" box furniture from Müller small living. What is the original idea behind the furniture system?
Sascha Sartory: The basic concept for "Vertiko" was to cover a large area with as few elements as possible. To do this, I started out by working very strongly two-dimensionally with patterns and surfaces and checking what possibilities would arise. This then led to the original module "Vertiko One", which has a two-dimensional division of 3x3 fields, with a large and a small square placed diagonally opposite each other. If you turn them 90 degrees, you get the typical Vertiko pattern. That was the basic idea: to develop a cube that can be rotated and to which it is easy to add – a two-dimensional grid that in principle already works with a module. In the course of time, other modules were added based on the specific wishes of the users.
What challenges did you face in implementing "Vertiko"?
Sascha Sartory: Of course, it was important to find out what specific usage requirements there are and what objects users ultimately want to store there. In addition, there are different places where "Vertiko" can be used, such as in the office or in the private sphere. So it was always a question of reconciling the functional requirements with the graphic quality of the furniture. This then had a corresponding impact on the technical details. For example, we developed a system that allows "Vertiko" to be easily attached to the wall. In addition, the individual modules can be leveled and thus adapted to each other.
What is the materiality of the furniture?
Sascha Sartory: Müller small living comes from the laminated wood sector, as you can see from the company's other products. This is also the case with "Vertiko", where you can choose between white or anthracite melamine as the surface for the laminated wood.
The modules "Vertiko Wide", "Vertiko Vertical" and "Vertiko HiFi" have now also been added. What is the respective concept for these and how do the three new modules expand the existing system?
Sascha Sartory: As I said, the original version of "Vertiko" was based on square elements that were primarily intended to serve as the basis for a wall of shelves. Over time, however, we realized that we could cover a wide range of applications with it, but not everything. An example of this would be the hallway area in an apartment, where there is generally not so much space, or the living room area where you want to put a specific piece of hi-fi furniture. That's why we broke away from the cube-shaped configuration to be able to cover specific formats and functions – for example, to accommodate a TV in the living room or a bench in the hallway. This gave rise to "Vertiko Wide", for which the principle of covering a large area with one module also applied. In addition to "Vertiko Wide", there is also "Vertiko Vertical", which works in exactly the same way – only not horizontally, but vertically. Moreover, both modules can be combined with each other and with the original square module.
There is also "Vertiko HiFi", which is specially designed for media use. How does the module adapt to the different media?
Sascha Sartory: "Vertiko HiFi" was designed specifically for the living room, in order to generate a sideboard from it, for example. Functional specifications then developed from this in order to be able to integrate various electronic devices such as a TV, a hi-fi system or an Apple TV box without any problems – for example, by being able to accommodate the cables of the devices there without any problems. These cabling options are the core of "Vertiko HiFi", in that the various compartments in the furniture can also be wired without any problems. Another issue is the heat generation of the respective devices. That's why the front of "Vertiko HiFi" is covered with a special fabric that, on the one hand, allows to send radio signals or place speaker boxes behind it, but on the other hand, lets the heat out from inside the furniture, preventing overheating.
